The former chief of staff to Brexit Secretary David Davis has called Britain’s efforts to leave the EU a “catastrophe” and called on “sensible MPs” to admit it.
James Chapman, an ex-Daily Mail political editor, also said Brexit should be reversed and tweeted a hashtag promoting a second referendum in 2019.
Chapman went to work for Davis after last year’s referendum, having previously worked for George Osborne, but left his government job in June to work in PR.
He never hid his Remain sympathies and, after leaving Government, told the BBC Theresa May’s insistence Britain leave the jurisdiction of European courts had “hamstrung” Brexit negotiations.
On Tuesday evening, he tweeted: “Past time for sensible MPs in all parties to admit Brexit is a catastrophe, come together In new party if need be, and reverse it.”
He copied in Remain-sympathising MPs Chuka Ummuna, Vince Cable, Anna Soubry, Nicky Morgan, Rachel Reeves, Nicholas Soames, Pat McFadden and Stella Creasy.
He later tweeted it was “well past time for sensible journos on papers that supported Brexit to admit it is going to destroy lives of many of their readers.”
Chapman, who has become a prolific tweeter since leaving Whitehall, has tweeted pro-Remain sentiments before.
After his old paper, the Daily Mail, splashed the Brexit result with the headline “TAKE A BOW BRITAIN”, Chapman contrasted it with the words of his half-Greek, six-year-old son, who asked whether he had to “go home”.
He has tweeted in support of Brexit sceptic Tories such as Philip Hammond and Ruth Davidson and called Theresa May’s target to cut immigration to the tens of thousands “stupid”.
Chapman’s latest tweets won ringing endorsements from Remainers.